The best shampoo for any hair type

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The Insider Pick:

Impossible as it might be to find a shampoo that works for every hair type, Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Shampoo comes pretty close. That's why it's our top pick — Living Proof's basic formula really works and it might even help you wash your hair less often.

Shampoo is not exactly sexy, but it sure is necessary. Well, unless you have the kind of hair type that hates shampoo (more on that later), but no matter. Everyone has to wash their hair using something, be it shampoo, a cleansing conditioner, or a DIY concoction you whip up in your own bathroom.

As the proud owner of naturally curly hair, it's probably been about 10 years since I've used a product that considers itself "shampoo." But that doesn't mean I just skip straight to conditioner.

All of this is to say that there's a shampoo or shampoo-adjacent product out there for you. If you're unsatisfied with your routine, you probably just haven't found The One yet.

One thing to consider: Shampoos that contain things like sulfates and parabens — often the ones that create a really satisfying lather and leave your roots feeling squeaky as a newly-scrubbed kitchen counter — can seriously dry out your hair. If that's a concern, look out for shampoos that don't include those ingredients.

The options on this list cater to different hair types and concerns, but they all stand out from the pack because they help keep your strands soft, hydrated, and clean. These are the five best shampoos for all hair types:

Read on in the slides below to learn all about our picks for the best shampoo you can buy.

The best shampoo overall

The most annoying thing about shampooing your hair is that you have to continue doing it day after day, week after week, year after year. One shampoo is really not going to keep you grease-free for long — a few hours or days, tops. The best you can hope for is a formula that lets you wash as infrequently as possible.

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Shampoo is far from a permanent solution, but it will cut down on the time you need to spend washing your hair. And you know what they say: The less time frittered away on lathering your scalp, the more time available for watching Netflix or writing the next Great American Novel.

Allure writer Patricia Tortolani backs up that claim, writing, "while other formulas had us washing every day to keep our oily scalp in check, this one has us down to two shampoos a week." Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Shampoo won the publication's Best of Beauty Award in 2014 and was named a top shampoo option by Best Products for its ability to hydrate and cleanse strands while delivering added volume to even the thinnest hair.

Perfect Hair Day is made without sulfates, parabens, or phthalates and advertised for use on all hair types (yes, even color-treated). But if your hair is ultra-curly, I suggest trying out the no-poo option on this list.

The best dry shampoo

Batiste

Why you'll love it: Sometimes you don't have time for a full wash, but Batiste Dry Shampoo is here to save the day.

Part of adulthood is coming to terms with the fact that you will occasionally sleep through your alarm and not have time to shower before work. There's no shame in that. It happens to literally everyone (some of us with more frequency than others). But it does mean you should have a contingency plan — i.e. a really good dry shampoo.

There are countless options on the market, but shoppers really go wild over the wallet-friendly Batiste Dry Shampoo. The cult classic dry shampoo has 31,702 reviews and a 4.5 rating out of 5 on Influenster, and it also won Best Dry Shampoo in the 2017 Influenster Reviewers' Choice Awards. Fans love it for its ability to de-grease your hair without making your roots unnaturally stiff.

Our guides editor Malarie Gokey also loves this dry shampoo and uses it on those in-between days when she doesn't have time to wash her hair.

Batiste comes in a bunch of different scents with funky names like "Wild" and "Neon Lights," and there are even some tinted versions, which is great if the original gives you the dreaded white cast, as some darker-haired reviewers noted that it did for them, or if you're looking to cover up grown-out roots.

Still, even with that minor caveat, Batiste Dry Shampoo is a great dry shampoo with an unbeatable under-$10 price tag. As one Influenster user puts it, "Let's just say if I️ was to have $10 til payday and I️t was between buying a bottle of Batiste or eating a meal... I️ pick the dry shampoo. I️t is a lifesaver!"

Pros: Bargain price tag, cuts down on oil without making hair stiff and crunchy

The best hydrating shampoo

Not all shampoos and conditioners that come in sets are created equal, but the Pantene ProV Daily Moisture Renewal duo is one you can happily buy in bulk — I recommended this shampoo's counterpart in a recent article on the best conditioners money can buy and now, here I am, telling you to go out and complete the family.

This shampoo works with Pantene's Moisture-Silk Complex to "lock in hydration from root to tip" and leave hair soft and shiny. Amazon buyers rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars, and it won the Allure Best of Beauty Award in 2017 and Reader's Choice Award in 2016 and 2017. The publication's editor Jenny Bailly described it as, "one of the least stripping of hair-cleansing options," and fans seem to agree.

One Amazon reviewer writes, "This has been the shampoo I swear by for at least 15 years. I have long thick curly hair and it has always left it smooth and manageable. Also use it on my daughter's hair and we both love it!" Given that ringing endorsement, this is a safe bet for an inexpensive moisturizing shampoo.

The best exfoliating shampoo

You probably don't think about scalp skin care as much as you should — like, do you think about it ever? Yeah, me neither. But if you find yourself clawing at the skin under your hair pretty often, it might be time to start exfoliating the area the same way you do your face.

Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal + Coconut Oil Micro-exfoliating Shampoo (mouthful of a name and all) cleans your hair while providing relief for the irritated skin on your scalp, thanks to ingredients like detoxifying binchoten charcoal, moisturizing coconut oil, and a soothing peppermint, spearmint, and tea tree oil complex. It's also great for clearing away product buildup — Where do you think all that styling cream goes, exactly?

This exfoliating shampoo comes highly recommended by Refinery29 and the 339 Sephora reviewers who rated it 5 stars. "Noticed an IMMEDIATE difference," writes one fan, "I use Rogaine twice daily because of alopecia and it leaves an itchy build-up on my scalp. This wiped it away and left my scalp and hair feeling cleaner than ever before."

The best “no-poo” for curly hair

Okay, so I fooled you. Strictly speaking, this isn't a shampoo. As the name implies, DevaCurl No-Poo Original Zero Lather Cleansing Conditioner cleanses hair without all the hair-stripping ingredients found in many traditional shampoos. It's perfect for curly textures, which tend to require more moisture than other hair types.

Don't be scared off by the concept of a non-lathering cleanser — This stuff really does clean your scalp, but it also leaves hair hydrated and full of volume, thanks to the grapeseed and peppermint oils in the formula. I'm partial to the Original version, but DevaCurl also carries a Low-Poo for looser waves and an even more moisturizing No-Poo called Decadence for super curly hair.

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